LAS VEGAS, Nev. – With the men's basketball season rapidly approaching, the West Coast Conference announced the 2022-23 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll and Preseason All-WCC Team on Thursday morning.
For San Francisco, guard
Khalil Shabazz was selected to the Preseason team while the Dons were picked to finish tied for third as a team with BYU in the conference standings. Notably, this selection marks the second straight season in which Shabazz has been named to the Preseason All-WCC Team.
"We are incredibly excited to see Khalil recognized on the Preseason All-WCC team," said head coach
Chris Gerlufsen. "He represents all of the good things about college basketball and is a great representative of USF. My staff and I love our group and hope a few other Dons will have their accomplishments honored as well. We are appreciative to be picked third in the preseason poll. We can't wait to compete against some great teams in WCC play with the hopes of exceeding our program's expectations."
Heading into the new year, Shabazz will aim to continue his historic career on the Hilltop as the Seattle native became the 40
th student-athlete in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark last season. Overall, the versatile guard currently ranks twenty-fifth in program history with 1,199 total points while also sitting third all-time in three-pointers made (204) and three-pointers attempted (588) and fourth all-time in steals (163). In 2021-22, Shabazz also ranked in the top ten in the conference in games started (34, first), three-point field goals made (79), total steals (59, third), free-throw percentage (84.5, seventh), total points (466, eighth), total field goals made (158, tenth) and total minutes (1,019, tenth). For these efforts, Shabazz earned All-WCC Second Team honors for the second straight year.
Fresh off of their first NCAA Tournament in 24 years, the Dons are hungry to get back to the Big Dance after a successful season that saw the green and gold compile a 24-10 overall record, including a 10-6 mark in West Coast Conference play.This year, USF's non-conference schedule is highlighted by seven home games, including another battle with Pac-12 foe Arizona State. Additionally, the Dons will return to Chase Center for the third time in the last four seasons, with USF set to take on Utah State on Sunday, Dec. 4 in a neutral site matchup.
Notably, the Dons will also compete in the 2022 Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City over the Thanksgiving week as the team will square off against Northern Iowa on Monday, Nov. 21 at T-Mobile Center. Beginning towards the end of the calendar year, USF will embark on their 16-game conference slate on Thursday, Dec. 29 when they make the trip to the South Bay for a showdown at Santa Clara. Notably, the Dons will wrap up their conference schedule on Saturday, Feb. 25 with a road trip to Provo, Utah for a matchup with BYU.
Overall, Gerlufsen enters his first year at the helm of the green and gold after taking over for former USF head coach Todd Golden. Individually, the Dons will return Shabazz along with veterans
Josh Kunen,
Julian Rishwain,
Zane Meeks and
Volodymyr Markovetskyy, who all played key roles in USF's rotation in 2021-22. Through the transfer portal, USF also added four Division I transfers in
Tyrell Roberts (Washington State),
Marcus Williams (Texas A&M),
Saba Gigiberia (Georgia Tech) and
Toni Rocak (UC San Diego).
Recently, the WCC also announced that the Dons will be featured on ESPN networks six times as well as three times on CBS Sports Network across this season. Additional television information on WCC men's basketball games will be announced shortly as schedules are finalized with the conference's television partners.
For fans, the deadline to renew season tickets for USF men's basketball is Friday, Oct. 14. Single game loyalty tickets will go-on sale for season ticket holders to purchase on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Just six days later, single game tickets will be available to the general public on Monday, Oct. 24.
The full 2022-23 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll and the 2022-23 Men's Basketball Preseason All-WCC Team can be viewed below:
2022-23 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Place |
Team |
First Place |
Points |
| 1. |
Gonzaga |
9 |
81 |
| 2. |
Saint Mary's |
1 |
73 |
| T-3. |
BYU |
|
57 |
| T-3. |
San Francisco |
|
57 |
| 5. |
Portland |
|
48 |
| 6. |
Santa Clara |
|
43 |
| 7. |
Pepperdine |
|
33 |
| 8. |
San Diego |
|
31 |
| 9. |
LMU |
|
17 |
| 10. |
Pacific |
|
10 |
| 2022-23 Men's Basketball Preseason All-WCC Team |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Rasir Bolton |
Sr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Alex Ducas |
Sr. |
F |
Saint Mary's |
| Logan Johnson |
Sr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Keshawn Justice |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
| Houston Mallette |
So. |
G |
Pepperdine |
| Tyler Robertson |
Jr. |
F |
Portland |
| Khalil Shabazz |
Sr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Julian Strawther |
Jr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Drew Timme |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
| Fousseyni Traore |
So. |
F |
BYU |
For updates and more information on the USF men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
